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Electric Fencing and paddock advice.

3K views 34 replies 9 participants last post by  Hondo 
#1 ·
Hey all.

I am bringing my horse home soon and I have a question about fencing...

We will not be building the barn until next year probably and for the time being he will be in a temporary/ semi-permanently run with a 3 sided lean-to.

I don’t care about ripping out anything when we build the barn. Which is why I say semi-permanent run.

What I would like to do is build the run and place the lean to on the EAST side of the run then when I build The barn it will be on the north side. Then I won’t have to rearrange much.

If this were you what type of fencing would you use? I don’t care about the extra costs if I have to get rid of something when I re-arrange. His safety is my biggest concern.

He’s not really rough on fencing but I’d like to have some sort of electric fencing, biggest issue is I won’t have electricity to his area yet. So I’m hoping solar would work. What are you experiences?

It’s not a huge run... but once everything is finished there will be a 3 stall barn and his paddock - it I open his paddock gate he will have free run of 4 acres of — well maintained forest with very old growth trees. All of which are being limbed and manicured now so nothing will stab him. The previous owners never touched it.. so it’s been a project cleaning it up. But so worth it...

Unfortunately, he won’t have a horse buddy right now so he gets a goat. Not ideal but I can’t have another horse. I don’t have time for that and he is extremely jealous. It’s sounds crazy but he seriously is...

I’m sorry to ramble... I just want more ideas than just my own.
 
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#2 ·
You might want to consider what I have used, if you can get pipe corral panels put up a small area and run your solar electric around that you will have something that will keep your horse in and you can easily move the panels around later. For the goat you can put fencing on the pipe panels. This might not work in your case, but it is a great way to get started on fencing.
 
#4 ·
I'm going to be in your similar shoes this year! Just getting the house built and I am going to have my horses home with me for the first time. I'm going to get some sort of shelter up for them, but it's just going to be electric fence to start. I may or may not have power dug over from the house right away.


I haven't any experience with solar fencers, but I know my family (cattle ranchers) have used basically car batteries to charge fencers when we would (from time to time) put up electric temporary fencing to graze the cattle in certain areas. Yeah, would have to change/charge the battery every so often but it worked. So that might be something to look into as well too.


I have myself on a list to get some permanent corral fencing up this summer. I like that idea because it is something more "secure" to have them in, than the little line of electric fence I am going to put up, LOL. Of course, my two guys are pretty well behaved usually and respect the fence well.


I'll get a waterer dug eventualy so they have heated water over the winter, but that will start with a big tub and a hose run from the house. Until I can get a frost free pipe dug.


So many things to do this summer! My list is huge.
 
#6 ·
I don't like electric around small runs (personal preference) and would rather have wood, field fence or pipe. Doing electric around the larger turnout would be fine. I have no experience with solar but have heard they aren't all that reliable if you have several days of no or minimal sun, even with battery backup. If you plan on eventually running electric to your barn you'd be money ahead to go ahead and get a line run to your future site. Added bonus of being able to have a light and plug in inside the shed.

I'd also try to keep the shed even after the barn becomes a reality because you can never have too many barns/sheds.

Enjoy the process and it will be so rewarding seeing your plans all come to life.
 
#7 ·
Yeah I thought about running the electric now but it’s just not a good time yet..
We are gonna be landscaping the backyard and making a little path to the back part.
That’s when we are running all the electric.

His small paddock is about 1/4 acre...

So you mentioned wood. That was actually what I was thinking. Initially, I wanted pipe corral Then I would just move it around.
But after thinking about it I figured I could just make the paddocks now and add the barn after.
I would just place the lean to on the other side of where the barn would go. Just imagine a big square. Barn will be build on the right side of the square, and my lean to will be place at the top of the square. Easy to shift!
I need the barn to face a certain direction so the stalls don’t get blasted by the wind when we have the Northeastern winds.

I honestly don’t really care about wasting some fencing...

Definitely keeping the lean-to.

Also.. just a side question..
could he have a buddy cow instead of a goat?
 
#8 ·
I used solar/battery for several years. Both for living and fencing. Recently moved and now have electricity but have used battery power in a few temporary spots.


The charger I have can be hooked up to battery or AC as I believe most do.



With solar, a regulator is needed to prevent over charging the battery. Then the fence charger is connected to the battery.



The fence charger will have a maximum wattage or amperage use in the specs....usually on the charger itself somewhere. This along with the possible number of days without sun can be used to size the battery needed along with the size of solar panels needed.


Alternatively, if there is AC at least somewhere, two batteries could be used with one being charged with AC while the other is on the fence. A small battery will last quite a while as the chargers don't really use that much electricity.
 
#9 ·
Parmack makes one of the best solar chargers. Has battery back up and you can get a second battery if you are in an issue where you have days in a row of non sunny days. If you go with a different type of battery go with marine. Know that if your fence is shorted by anything touching it it can drain that battery quickly. Other wise the battery can last up to a month.
 
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#10 ·
My situation here means that I must keep fire prevention in mind, so no wood fences. The great thing about pipe panels is that they last practically forever, and if you get the lighter kind (I have all 3 rail so that the bottom rail is pretty high to avoid casting) you can move them around easily by yourself as needed throughout the years. I needed a safe place that my horse could not get out of, so I used a smaller solar inside the panels to keep the horse from leaning on the panels. Worked great for me, the "pulse" was weak, but just enough to work. Even if you just keep a small corral of this, it's a great way to really keep a escape artist from getting out.
 
#11 ·
Solar isn't reliable in many areas. I've never had good luck with them; they don't pack as much 'punch' and horses soon learn when they are on and when they are not. I would not use solar electric as a sole means of containment. Nope, nope, nope.

If you want electric, go with something like electrobraid with a good electric or battery charger. A marine battery works well. Or go with panels, and you can use solar electric inside them if the horse wants to lean or push on them. For a small area, I don't want electric as I don't want the horse to worry about staying clear of it. Electric is fine for a larger area.
 
#12 ·
Electric will not be the only fencing just be clear.
I just want a strand across the top so he doesn’t go messing around with things. While he’s never messed with fencing before he CAN be a busy body. I don’t want him to even think about it.
 
#13 ·
Solar fence chargers are good for horses. So long as the goat doesn't short it out with his horns or such. I've used them for years at agistment properties, until I moved to my own property a couple years ago & was able to have a mains unit. Only prob for me is, it doesn't keep kangaroos... & the neighbour's goats out. They frequently short it, when jumping over/going through, so I wouldn't rely solely on just a couple strands electric if the horse could get out onto the road or such if it failed. Mine are to reinforce solid fencing already there(to stop the horses leaning on it to eat on the other side) and for internal fences. But for a goat, you'd need a fair few strands of electric close together, or maybe You could have plain wire fencing at the bottom, covered with chicken wire(sheep mesh or other appropriate for goats more dangerous for horses) and a couple electric strands above that. Either way, horses are relatively easy to fence in, but goats & sheep are tricky - esp if it also has to be horse safe.

Re the goat, if your horse is 'jealous' - I'm assuming you mean aggressive towards other horses? Just how aggressive & in what situations? - a little goat, who will be far more hurt from a kick than another horse may be a bit of a risk. If you can't afford to own another horse, any chance there's someone willing to agist/board at your property?

And tree limbs & manicured ground - it's highly unlikely your horse would have any kind of problem with all that. Of course you get the odd ones who will hurt themselves on absolutely anything...
 
#14 ·
@loosie

There will be either pipe corral or a wood corral and electric. The electric is just so he doesn’t lean on his paddock fencing. A deterrent.

And no I don’t mean aggressive...
If I spend time with or ride anyone’s horse he runs all over the place screaming for me to come back to see him. I’ve ridden on a trail ride with him in tow and he tried to cuddle all over me.

No aggression what so ever. He’s just like an annoying child screaming “mommy mommy come back mommy mommy I need your attention”

He loves other horses. Not an aggressive bone in his body.

He’s not like this to anyone but me. He’s very attached.
 
#15 ·
I don’t want to have another horse here.

Thats a huge liability that I’m not interested in.
I’m not housing them together if I even get a goat.

This isn’t that ramshackle of a temporary situation.
I don’t care about wasting money on this. His well-being is the main concern.

I’ll upload a picture of the area.
 
#18 ·
Basically -

His temporary situation will be a wooden paddock or a pipe paddock with electric tape to deter him from messing around with things and a 3 sided lean-to for shelter.

My questions were mostly about the solar electric since we won’t have electricity out there until barn is being built, and the thoughts on wooden or pipe.

Sorry I was very unclear in my original post.

If I get a goat it will have its own area. I just didn’t want him to feel alone. He’s been alone before and he didn’t care but I just thought it’d be better for him.

I can borrow a friends horse if I wanted to for hang-out sessions. I just don’t want anyone boarding a horse here. That’s annoying and I don’t want anyone in my property.
 
#19 ·
Oh, I see. So if the horse isn't aggressive, if you're looking at a goat for company for him, why on earth wouldn't you keep them together? What's the point? Perhaps a mini pony or a donkey would be better.

Esp in the sort of area you pictured, a goat wouldn't be happy to stay there. Not that it looks much chop for a horse either - tho I appreciate it's temporary. I thought you said there were acres?

Esp if you have to clear forest for a very small paddock, what happened to the logs? Can you not use them for post & rail fencing? That would look awesome too. I wouldn't do that if I were just going to pull it down in not so long though.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Depending on where you are located. Solar isn't dependable if a lot of cloudy days. Battery operated fencer is better than solar.

My smaller corals are lined with hot fence. 2 sides are just hot wire. Horses are fine ,they aren't leery of fencing but stay away from it.

The smaller the area more likely horses will mess with fence. Every fence line here has hot fence some places 2 strands some only one strand.

But no fence line here isn't without hot wire. I have woven wire fence in places that has two strands of hot wire. One on top, one half way down fence about 2 -1/2 feet from ground,on inside of pasture or corrals.

Horses learn real quick how to lean on fencing,rub butt on fencing.

Whatever fencer you get make sure it's properly grounded.

And get a fencer that shocks through wet weeds/brush. I've had fencers that are a real pita to keep fence hot. Anything on wire shorts it out.

Only thing that shorts my current fencer is ,wire touching metal fence post or woven wire. Only shorts the section were wire is touching metal. Unlike other fencers it would short out entire fence.
 
#21 ·
The logs won’t last long. It’s very rainy.

Yes we have 5 acres total. We won’t be clearing everything. He will be living in the woods.

Goats love it here!!!
I live in the PNW. That’s just a small area of the acreage - goats can chomp on everything in there. We don’t have anything poisonous on our lot.

As far as grazing my neighbor is going to let him graze on his 5 across the street. He’s already setup for having cows there so it’s fenced. Instead of renting it for cows he’s going to let me use it.

I don’t know.. can a goat be IN with him? What if it gets stepped on?! I guess it will move huh?
 
#23 ·
I think there is some confusion going on about solar vs battery. "VS" is just not the deal.


Pure solar wouldn't work even if there was 100% bright sunlight each and every day. It gets dark each and every day that the sun shines bright.


To use solar power, a battery is always required if it is to work during the night time. The solar is simply a way to charge the battery.


The AC chargers simply have a power supply that converts 120V AC to 12V DC same as a battery. Any cheap auto battery will last several days. A marine is better as it is deep cycle and can be discharged deeper without the damage a thin plated auto battery may experience.


Even better would be two 6-volt golf cart batteries which are true deep cycle. I've used four of those for 20 years but that was for everything. Not required for a simple fence.


I have a tester that tests the fence voltage up to 8K volts. My charger has typically read 6k unless I was right on top of the charger. It is hooked up to AC now and it is testing the same 6k.


So I question the claim that batteries are weaker. That would only be if they are in an overly discharged state.


Battery life is extended considerably if they are not discharged beyond 80% capacity.


Solar is fine. Small 50 watt panel will keep a battery charged up serving a few miles of fence, if weeds are kept trimmed and there is at least a few days of sun per month. Otherwise an alternate charging method might be needed.
 
#24 ·
@Hondo

Thanks!
I totally understand what you said.

That’s what I will do. It’s not a huge area so that should be sufficient and by the time winter rolls around we might actually have the barn complete.



We have an excavator right now and we’re digging out all the old stumps and undergrowth in the front.

The back part that I had pictures of is what we did over winter with the help of our neighbor. He pulled out a couple large stumps and we’ve done everything else by hand...

It’s definitely forest but not thick forest. The previous owners hadn’t been back there since the 70’s. (According to them)

It was very unkept and the ferns have taken over... But I’ve got to hand it to the husband. He didn’t want anyone touching his trees and now we have one of the only lots around us with big beautiful and healthy trees.

When we are done it will be park for Apollo!

We will actually have a very very small pasture he can get to in the very back. It will take a couple seasons to get going and it won’t be year round but it’s something!
 
#25 ·
^I've never seen a solar unit that wasn't connected to a battery - it wouldn't work at night or particularly cloudy days otherwise. I had mine hooked up to an old car battery, and the solar charged that, but they make all in one solar+battery+energiser units too.
 
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